The subject invention provides a way of rehabilitating the hand by increasing the range of motion of the joints of the fingers, by providing static progressive stretch to the intrinsic and extrinsic tendons, ligaments, muscles or soft tissue, by providing composite finger flexion, and by strengthening the fingers. When a hand has been injured or diseased, the range of motion of the fingers becomes limited. As a result of the limited motion, the fingers tend to lose their strength which reduces their gripping and prehension ability.
Passive motion devices for exercising the hand have been developed such as, for example, the ones described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,644,938 and 4,875,469, where motors and cables move the fingers through flexion and extension. These devices are expensive and designed to be used by a patient who is incapacitated and not for a patient who has the ability to move his or her fingers but needs to exercise and strengthen them.
Other systems have been developed where gloves include eyelets for receiving tension members that are also connected to hooks on the patient's wrist (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,347,547) or hooks are glued onto the patient's fingernails. These and other systems where the hooks or eyelets are designed to be connected to a specific part of the fingers (see U.S. Pat. Nos. 494,197 and 4,790,301) have been found to be less than satisfactory because they cannot be adapted to fit various sized fingers or various placement on one or more fingers depending on the needs of the patient.
There is a need for a finger rehabilitation system that achieves the full range of finger flexion including composit finger flexion and stretch of the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles and tendons, provides both active and isotonic exercise of the hand, allows for the blocking of certain joints while working on others, and strengthens the fingers after the full range of motion has been achieved.